Rural bankers get security tips

Managers of banks located in rural areas of Ranchi district discussed security arrangements in their respective branches with senior superintendent of police Saket Kumar Singh in his office on Monday.

The meeting was organised in accordance with Reserve Bank of India guidelines, which stipulate interactions between bank managers and the police every three months.

Over 60 managers of nationalised and private banks were present at the meeting that started around 1.30pm and continued for an hour. The rural areas from where the bankers had come included Nagri, Tamar, Bundu and Ormanjhi.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Singh said the bank managers were asked to install CCTV cameras and depute adequate number of guards for proper vigilance of premises during and after transaction hours. They were also asked to keep their emergency sirens in order to ensure its use in case of need. The bankers were also asked to take help of police as and when required and take special care while transporting cash from bank to currency chest.

Singh maintained that the bankers were also asked to ensure that their security guards were extra vigilant at ATMs to prevent anti-social elements from hanging around and making attempts to withdraw money fraudulently.

Manager of Irba branch of Bank of Baroda S.S. Toppo, who attended the meeting, described the interaction as successful with all bank managers running branches in rural areas coming together to discuss security issues. “If such meetings are organised regularly, it will be easier to maintain proper security in banks,” he said.

Manager of Kamre branch of Canara Bank Manoj Kumar Das said the meeting helped create awareness about security in banks. “Though I have made proper security arranements in my branch, such meetings help us to think more along the same lines,” he said.

Monday’s meeting was the second of its kind. Earlier on February 7, Singh had met bank managers operating in the city.

Since June last year, three bank robberies have been reported in the district.

A group of three armed men recently looted a rural bank in Ranchi’s Nagri. The three masked criminals barged into Jharkhand Gramin Bank at Balalong area of Nagri and sped away on motorcycles after looting Rs 9.8 lakh at gunpoint.

Another Jharkhand Gramin Bank branch was looted in Ranchi’s Chutupalu by a group of five masked dacoits, who escaped with Rs 7.66 lakh in cash. Later, the police discovered the involvement of some local criminals in the incident and the case was solved.

In September last year, three persons looted Rs 4 lakh in cash and jewellery from Rainbow Creative Society, a co-operative bank, in Doranda.